Maybe Baseball Prospectus was right about the 2011 Astros

Maybe the folks at Baseball Prospectus knew what they were talking about after all. Maybe the Astros are just a very, very bad team. Fox Sports agrees on its current power rankings. Same with ESPN.

Doesn’t mean there won’t be some high points, a few streaks (winning hopefully) mixed in and some discoveries (perhaps Brett Wallace, Bud Norris, et al), but overall, the bottom line is this: It ain’t going to be pretty. Heck, it’s already getting ugly.

Expectations, hopes and dreams should be put aside at this point and fans should accept the fact that Baseball Prospectus may be right: this team could be headed for the worst season in the organization’s history. Nothing seems to be falling right. Even the magic 4-run barrier isn’t working: The Astros are 3-7 when scoring four runs or more.

Several games ago Bill Brown and Jim Deshaies were looking for positives, and the post-game team was looking for silver linings. Perhaps they knew then that there jobs would be difficult all season long. To be sure, the silver linings are there, but you find them mostly in dark, ominous clouds.

After Sunday, the Astros are on course to win 50 games in 2011. The team still hasn’t won back-to-back games since September 19-20. That’s a span of 28 games and only begins to demonstrate the Astros’ plight. A two-game win streak seemed almost in the bag after Saturday’s win and the fact the Astros were sending its ace to the mound Sunday.

No dice. Brett Myers is the new Roy Oswalt. Myers is 1-0 despite four quality starts and a 2.38 ERA.

It’s good to note that the Astros have never lost 100 games in a season. Will this team challenge that 50-year standard? Will the Astros gel at mid-season as in recent years and chase .500 or at least 75-80 wins?

In case you’re wondering the record for fewest wins in a season was back in 1962 when the Mets finished 40-120-1. Casey Stengel was the manager and Roger Craig was that team’s ace.

For Houston, 64 wins was the worst (1962 and 1975) and the team also won just 65 in 1965 and 1991.

Go ahead with your rants, grumblings and diatribes. If you have a silver lining or a rave to throw in, we’ll take those too. Just remember, it’s possible Baseball Prospectus is right about your 2011 Astros.